The Legacy
by StrangeSpark
Summary: Two years after the events of 1933 Manhattan where the 8th Wonder met his end, a team of experts was assembled to study, document, and catalogue the flora and fauna of Kong's home: Skull Island. This is the story of the brave souls who gave their lives in pursuit of bettering human knowledge, in a quest to unlock the mysteries of this dark and forgotten land. This is Project Legacy
1. Chapter 1

**This story is a collaboration between my boyfriend and I and it is based on a book that was put into circulation by Weta Workshops called "The World Of Kong". This is our version of how the information in that book was gathered and we hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

August 1935

The sky was heavy with grey, angry clouds and rain pattered gently on the thatched roof over her head. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled. She breathed deep of the moisture-laden air, savoring every moment of it. She looked up from the letter she had been reading and re-reading for the last couple of hours. The multitude of stamps spoke of its long journey from Washington D.C. to Berlin to Moscow to Delhi then to Pontianak where it eventually found its way into her hands via couriers. The paper was thick and slightly warped due to the humidity. It began formally and without nonsense. Actually the entire letter reeked of formality and politics.

Dr. Turner,

You have been selected to join a company of scientists on an exceptionally important field study. You are the fifth on a list of experts that have been chosen to study life on an island trapped in time. Joining you will be a host of other experts, and the leader of the expedition, renowned wilderness guide: Mr. Elliot Abner. Enclosed within this letter is an itinerary, enough funds to travel to where you will meet your fellow scientists in Kanyakumari. From there, the good ship Legendary will take you to your final destination. It is recommended that you bring along your own trade tools and firearms, as they will not be provided for you. Good luck and good hunting.

Yours in Science,

_Jethro Petrussino, _

Chairman of the International Science Committee

When she looked into the envelope there was indeed enough local currency to get her at the very least to Karachi, India. Sighing heavily she refolded the letter and picked up the itinerary she was supposed to be following. They were expected to leave on the boat in a week and a half and it would take her at least that long to get to Kanyakumari. So she had to make a decision now. She knew exactly what island they intended to send her to and it was not as though she wouldn't kill to get on that island, it was the fact that they expected her to simply do as she was told. She was not especially good at following orders and the only way she gave respect was if someone had earned it. She had met Jethro Petrussino in person and he had certainly not earned her respect. On the other hand, she would be getting paid to travel to an island she had been petitioning to study for years. Travel and meals would be compensated generously. And she'd get to study _them_.

Taking another deep breath of the moist, mountain air, she began gathering her things and stuffing them into her small canvas knapsack and leather duffel bag. She made sure her father's old M1911 pistol was tucked safely into its holster on her hip and slung her own Remington Model 8 across her back. She broke down her small thatch shelter and then, taking a last look around the clearing that had been her home for the last four or so months, she began hiking back down the barely-visible path towards Pontianak.

* * *

One week and two days later:

Elliot Abner paced over the boards on the deck of the _S.S. Legendary_. He stopped each time one would squeak under his boots and made a mental note of where that board was, what was possibly making it squeak, and how he could best avoid it squeaking in the future. Small, noisy things like that set off the hunter inside him and, with no good reason, he felt they should be avoided. The Indian sun beat down on him as he waited for everyone to arrive. Finishing his pacing around the deck he went to check over the list of the people he was going to be babysitting on this little field trip. He knew his men were here; Johann Forst and Benji Keegan, the medic and cook, had checked in with him yesterday and immediately found the nearest pub. They had been there 'round the clock unless they were sleeping in the bunks. Abner rolled his eyes thinking about who in their bloody mind recruited an Irishman to be the cook. Cosimo Laguardia had checked in early this morning, and both Edward Tobin and Marik Wyrick had arrived around lunchtime. He knew he could count on mercenaries to be punctual.

Now the sun had reached its peak and was beginning its descent. The hottest part of the day was upon them and Abner resigned himself to the only slightly cooler below deck where the all the bunks were located. Lounging on one of the hammock-like bunks he read over the small biographies of the company he would be leading. While he didn't especially like scientists (bunch of stuffy, stuck-up, know-it-alls were the words he had used) he rather liked the look of a few of them. Henry Bayer was one of them, the paley-oh-something or another. Grew up in an army family, studied at Brown, and received his doctorate from Arizona State Teacher's College. Army family would mean at least he would have a little discipline. The other one he liked the look of was Boris Roubinskia, a former member of the Russian Army and recently dubbed bird-scientist. A former army member was someone he could definitely rely on. The others did not look as promising though, he thought with a grumble.

He was halfway through reading about one named Remy Leroux and his fluffy life in the French countryside, studying bugs, when the boards above his head squeaked and he heard voices on the main deck. So he hauled himself out of the bunk and climbed the steps up to the topside of the old steamer. Two men stood on the deck with about two suitcases each. He huffed quietly and went to greet them. The first introduced himself as Dr. Darrin Wilson from California. He was a tall man with a small mustache and a small belly pushing against the cloth of his white shirt. Wilson was a botanist, a plant-person Abner filed away in his mind. The other man introduced himself as Dr. Boris Roubinskia. Abner was impressed with the man who still seemed to have kept all of the muscle from his army days, just as Abner had hoped. He was also tall, maybe taller than Abner himself, and he possessed a strong jawline that looked like it had spent too many winters clenched in frigid temperatures. Abner sympathized for he had led expeditions though the Alps and once into the South American Mountains.

"Jolly good to meet you Doctors." He stated simply. "Bunks are down the stairs, first landing you come to. Make yourselves comfortable, t'won't be shoving off for another day or so." The two men thanked him and made their way below deck. He turned back to the port side of the _Legendary_ and stared at the ocean. After so many expeditions to so many locations, Elliot Abner could tell from the start how an expedition would end. By now he knew the patterns and behaviors of doctors well enough that he could almost predict what they were going to say down to the word order. Now he had a feeling in his gut, a nauseous feeling, which was unsettling in its own right for he had not been physically sick since his secondary school days. He hoped that it wasn't a sign of events to come. He may not have liked scientists but he hated losing patrons even more.

The next morning found an addition to their company waiting on the docks with at least five immaculate suitcases. Skinny, clean-shaven, and white as potato mash, Abner's guess was correct as he shook hands with Dr. Remy Leroux, the entomologist of the company. The boy looked like he hadn't been outside in his life. He nodded quickly when spoken to and responded hurriedly in second-rate English.

"Alright, Lad, take the bag that has your clothes in it and the boys will take your other bags below to cargo. Make yourself comfortable." More harried nodding and he picked one bag and held it tight to his chest as he picked his way carefully up the gangplank. He seemed to shake with every swell that came under the boat. Abner rolled his eyes and scoffed at the boy. Why was he even reviewed for this company? It didn't make sense.

A few hours later there was another visitor. Dr. Henry Bayer gave Abner a strong handshake and carried his one suitcase, satchel and trench gun to the bunkroom himself. The paleontologist reminded him of a partner he used to have, Tommy, who had helped him fight off hyenas on the plains of Africa many years ago. Bayer looked like someone he could trust and who could handle his own. Good, Abner thought to himself, he needed men who could handle themselves in tough terrain, and from what he heard of their destination, there would be some very tough terrain.

The sun was climbing higher in the sky and Abner decided to review the company list one last time. They should have just about everyone. He went down the list and checked off everyone who had come aboard. There was only one name left and seeing it, Abner did a double take, read it, re-read it, and grumbled loudly. Across the deck Wyrick, Tobin, and Bayer were conversing and looked over at him.

"What's wrong boss? We lose someone?" Tobin asked, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Abner shook his head.

"No, worse." He said gravely as he looked up. "There's a woman in our company." Tobin and Wyrick looked at each other and laughed. Bayer looked a bit confused.

"What's wrong with a woman coming along?" Abner fixed him with a serious stare.

"What's wrong, Doctor, is that women can't take care of themselves. I have seen too many women on safari loose their heads at the first sign of danger and very often they pay with their lives." Feeling a bit humorous he added. "And they lug about fifteen suitcases with them wherever they go. So be prepared boys." Wyrick and Tobin laughed again and there was a hint of a smile on Bayer's face. Abner allowed himself a small chuckle at his own joke and returned to reviewing the limited biography of the woman, who was late anyhow, he reminded himself. He had just gotten to the section about her childhood in Oklahoma, which abruptly cut off after she turned sixteen, when a voice cut through the hot, humid air of the Indian Port.

"I don't think you'll have to worry yourself about my bags, Mr. Abner." Came a voice from a few feet to his left. A leather hat covered long russet hair that was plaited behind one ear. Green eyes peered out from beneath the brim of the hat and fixed Abner with a hard stare. Her clothes were stained with mud and grime as was her face and she carried a pistol, a rifle, and a knife. Other than that she carried two small beat-up looking leather bags and herself. Abner took all of this in with a keen eye and summed his thoughts into one sentence.

"You look like 'ell." He said bluntly. She raised an eyebrow but made no effort to defend her appearance. "Where've you been Love?" She didn't seem too surprised at his frankness, but she stood there another moment, appraising him as he had done to her, before answering.

"Borneo." She replied, her voice flat. "I tend to look this way after four months in the field."

"Dr. Leah Turner then is it?"

"It is."

"Where're all yer bags, Love?"

"You may call me Leah or Dr. Turner and you are looking at all my bags, Mr. Abner." She said tightening her grip on that Remington of hers.

"All right, Dr. Turner. Bunks are down the stairs, first landing, dinner is soon if you want to powder your nose." She scoffed at him, rolling her green eyes back.

"Do I look like I have any powder to put on my nose?" she turned away grumbling something obscene in Afrikaans under breath. He couldn't be certain but he thought he heard something about what he should do were his manhood long enough. He harrumphed quietly. Abner noticed the planks of the deck didn't squeak under her feet as they had his. He'd have to keep an eye on that one.

He checked Leah Turner off the list and went to tell the first mate that they could finally shove off when he and the crew were ready. A plank under his foot squeaked loudly and he flinched. 'How the 'ell did she manage to get up the gangplank and around the deck without a sound?' he thought to himself as he ascended the steps to the helm. That would bug him for days he just knew it.

* * *

Leah dug her plate and small tin cup out of her bag when she heard the call for dinner. She made her way up the steps to the galley. She passed a mirror on her way and saw just how dirt-streaked her face was. After two plane rides and a very long cab ride she had had no time to wash her face or clothes. She sighed and unrolled one of her sleeves. Picking a spot that seemed less-dirt-covered; she gave it a good lick and scrubbed furiously at her forehead and cheeks. When she finished her face was still dirty so she gave up and trudged the rest of her way to the galley. The rest of her peers were congregated around two long tables. One of the crew served her rice and red beans and bread and another poured water into her cup.

"_Terima kasih_." She spoke in Malay. The crewmember looked at her with a strange gaze before patting his chest with an open hand and said.

"India." She nodded and apologized in Hindi.

"_Dhan 'yavāda_." She thanked again. He smiled and nodded to her.

"_Āpakā svāgata hai_." He responded. She smiled and went to find a seat. Her fellow scientists were seated at the farthest table while the men she guessed would be "escorting" them were seated at the nearest. She walked around to where a gangly, clean-shaven man in glasses was speaking in small English, responding to questions from a broad-shouldered man with a shaved head. The first man looked up and waved at her.

"Profezzor Turner! Over 'ere!" She wandered over and sat down beside the man. "Profezzor Remy Leroux, and zis eez Docteur Boriz Roobi…Roubinz…" he looked to the bigger man for help in pronouncing his name.

"Roubinskia. A pleasure to meet you Doktor Turner." She shook both their hands and inquired as to their professions.

"Ah! Well I am ze leeding authoritee of insectz et incect-like arthropods." She made a surprised noise and asked him why he enjoyed working with insects.

"_Pourquoi aimez-vous les insects_?" As soon as she uttered the first syllable in flawless French, Leroux's eyes lit up and he responded excitedly.

"_Je les ai aimés depuis que je suis un garcon!"_ She smiled and nodded. She liked people who got excited about their professions. Her mother had always told her that the difference between a job and a career was one's feelings toward what they claimed to love.

"Ah," she responded. "_Je vois_." Then she turned to Roubinskia who smirked and spoke in rough, gravelly Russian.

"_Vy govorite na russkom, tak , doktor?"_ She smirked as well, accepting the challenge he had put forth. Russian wasn't her best but she could manage.

"_Khuzhe, chem frantsuzskiy, no luchshe, chem kitayskaya_." Roubinskia's eyebrows rose a few centimeters on his forehead but he smiled.

"_Nu, yaornitolog . Vy znayete, chto mne delat'?_" She paused and thought. She didn't know the compound he had used. She struggled for a moment before relenting with a huff.

"_Izvinite, ya ne ponimayu_." She did not understand him. He smiled good-naturedly and spoke in excellent English.

"I am an Ornithologist." This struck her as odd. Before her was a broad-shouldered, well-muscled, and presumably very strong Russian man and his area of expertise was _birds_? 'Well this might be an interesting trip after all.' She thought taking sip of water Beside her, Leroux coughed and sputtered. Apparently he had tasted his coffee.

"Eugh! Zis coffee iz terrible!"

"Just clench your teeth to filter out the grinds, it won't be too bad after that." She offered. Leroux tried it and still coughed. She guessed he was used to more sugar and cream in his coffee.

"I have read some of your papers, Doktor Turner." Roubinskia said drawing her thought away from the last time she had tasted cream or sugar in her coffee. "I thought your hypothesis concerning the familial and social practices of canopy-dwelling primates was a little, erm, _smeshnoy_."

"Ridiculous? What's so ridiculous about the concept that tree-dwelling primates have just as much of a social and familial network as say chimpanzees or gorillas?" She was used to this, defending her research. However, she remembered the particular work that was being referenced, and she thought that the hype from her almost seven year-old dissertation would have died down by now.

"I just can't see primates that are not closely related to humans exhibiting human-like behavior." Roubinskia replied. Leah fixed him with the same stare she had used when conferencing with the Dissertation Review Board.

"All primates are related to humans."

"I am not trying to devalue your work, Doktor. I simply can't see tree-dwelling primates exhibiting human-like behavior." Roubinskia stated calmly with his hands held shoulder-width apart, palms out in a show of good intent. Leah swallowed the bite of beans and rice she had taken and rolled up the right sleeve of her once-white shirt. She held out her forearm for Roubinskia and Leroux to examine. Running the length of her forearm from her wrist to elbow was a puckered, white, jagged scar. Beside her, Leroux sucked in a breath.

"_Mon Dieu_!" he exclaimed.

"This was given to me by a baboon because I had stepped accidently into the territory where she was nursing her young." She stated. Roubinskia nodded, following her story. "When I was eight, my family took a trip to New York City and while we were watching fireworks, a strange man took my little sister by the hand, thinking she was his daughter, and tried to take her. My mother punched that man in the face so hard it shattered his nose. So now tell me, Doctor Roubinskia, was that a baboon displaying human-like behavior, or a human displaying baboon-like behavior?" He stared at her for a moment and she hadn't realized that the rest of their table was listening intently to their conversation until now. Finally Roubinskia smiled and threw his head back, letting out a hearty bellowing laugh.

"I see your point, Doktor Turner. Maybe that would have made your point better if that had been in your dissertation."

"Unfortunately I only had the run in with an angry baboon a few years after I became accredited." She said, smiling as well.

I'd like to hear _that_ story." Said a man coming to sit across from her, beside Roubinskia. He was smaller than Roubinskia but more muscular than Leroux, he wore glasses that hid warm, brown eyes. His face was friendly and he sported a small mustache and five o' clock shadow. He held out his hand to her and she shook it.

"Henry Bayer, paleontologist from Arizona Teacher's College." She nodded.

"Leah Turner, behavioral ecologist, International Science Committee. I work for the Behavior and Interpretation division." He smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

"So, about that baboon attack. I was lead to believe that a bite from one of those beasts is deadly." Leah chewed on her piece of bread and attempted to respond when a strong, almost annoyed voice echoed through the mess.

"They are." A tall man walked through the door. Having seen him earlier Leah grumbled. Elliot Abner walked over to the table and sat beside Bayer. He had a face full of stubble and she assumed a plan to grow a full beard. His dark blue eyes studied her face as he took a sip of something from a silver flask with the image of a roaring lion embossed on the side. "Took a chap and his family out into the Serengeti plains once, the wife was attacked by two of the beasts. She died before we even got to her." Leah rolled her eyes.

"Of course she died, a housewife in the Serengeti? She was dead the moment she stepped out her door." Abner acquiesced to that but fixed her with his doubtful stare again.

"So how did _you_ manage it, Turner? Unless it wasn't a baboon at all and you just got on the wrong side of the natives." Leah was getting tired of his derisive, South African accent that seemed to mock her even when he wasn't speaking. It was high time for the famous Elliot Abner to be shut up by a woman. She reached into her shirt and pulled out a thick, sinew cord that held a long, slender, yellow, tipless tooth. She held it up for all to see, especially Abner.

"When I woke up in the hospital in Nairobi all I remembered was sketching and taking notes on a family unit in the Serengeti and then being run down by a screeching mass of fur. That felt like being hit in the face with a truck. Next thing I know I throw her off me and I start running like I had the Devil himself on my heels, all the while trying to tie my belt around my arm to stop the bleeding. I got about halfway to my camp before I collapsed and blacked out. Apparently my assistant found me and drove me over the border to Nairobi. I woke up about a week later with _this_ still sticking out of my arm. They didn't want to take it out because it was keeping my blood clotted. Eventually though, they did get it out while I was unconscious, they had to break off the tip and leave it in my arm to keep my artery plugged. My assistant gave it to me as a gift." She concluded to a silently rapt audience. Abner still looked as though he doubted the story but seemed to give up trying to prove her wrong after seeing the tooth.

"But what about ze baboon?" Leroux asked, nearly quivering in his seat beside her. "Deed you keel eet? If it attacked you zen eet must 'ave been rabid." Leah shook her head.

"She wasn't rabid, I was just too close to her family. Had I shot her, I would have left her children without their mother and they would have died too."

"So vhy do you keep zat 'orrid looking tooth?" he aksed. She smiled as she looked at the tooth, the very tooth that had punctured the artery in her arm and then plugged it back up.

"It reminds me that what I study is alive and defensive and that I could die anytime they want." She replied.

"And you're okay with that?" Bayer spoke up for the first time since Abner had sauntered into the room. She looked at him, slipping the tooth back under her shirt.

"Dr. Bayer, if half the rumors about this island we're headed to are true, you will understand exactly what I'm saying the second we get there. And yes, I am very okay with being killed doing what I love." Bayer grinned and took another sip of his coffee.

"Well, _I_ intend to die on an exotic island with a drink in my hand and a lady with questionable morals in my bed." Came Abner's obnoxious voice from beside Bayer. Leah rolled her eyes. The man was getting more insufferable by the minute. His comment sent a wave of chuckles and agreeing noises through the other company members. Bayer, though remained straight-faced for which she was grateful. Abner had turned around and was conversing with one of the mercenaries, that's what Leah would call them since there was no better word for them. She let out a noise that was something along the lines of a grumble, a snort, and a sigh. She just knew that he would grind on her every last nerve.

'_Very well Mr. Abner, if that is how you want to play this, I'll humor you.'_ She thought to herself as she finished off her plate of beans.

She declined an offer to join Roubinskia, Leroux, Bayer, and Dr. Wilson, the botanist, for a smoke on the main deck, and instead made her way to the bunkroom intending to review some articles she had been given at the post office in Pontianak. Crawling into one of the hammock-like bunks she picked up one of the articles, entitled _Brains or Brawn; A Study of Aggression in African Gorillas_, and made it though the first two sentences before her eyelids drooped and the rocking of the _Legendary_ lulled her into a restful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning dawned bright and clear to the song of seagulls and the churning engines of the Legendary. In the night, they had left the port of Kanyakumari behind and were chugging ahead at full speed. On the main deck, Leah was awake and enjoying a cup of coffee while watching the sunrise from the port side. She was thinking about her sister who was back home, in Oklahoma, with her husband and three children. The last time Leah had seen them, Samuel, the oldest, was only just shy of his tenth birthday and Margaret was turning seven. Little Eleanor was just learning to hold her head up while she rolled around on the floor. This was over a year ago. The last she had heard from her sister, Patricia, she and Martin were arguing over what crops to plant on the family farm and whether or not they should buy two horses or a cow with the money left over from fixing the windmill. Patricia had also begged her not to go back "into the woods" as she called it. She had been getting ready to leave for the jungles of South America at the time and Patricia expressed, not for the first time, her distaste for what Leah did.

"We already lost Pa and Ma," she had said, clutching her sister's hand, her curly blond hair made her green eyes stand out. It was almost like looking at her mother again. "I don't want to lose my only sister." Leah had smiled and slung her pack over her shoulder and asked Patricia.

"What would I do then, Patty? Would I stay here and help you in the kitchen? Or help Marty and Sam out in the fields?" Patricia had nodded fervently and insisted that they had room enough for her to stay, that she could make herself a home here with her family.

"You belong here. Your family is here." She pleaded

"Patty, this is _your_ home. Not mine." Leah said, keeping her voice calm. "I'm doing what I love and I know you're doing what you love here, with Martin and the kids." Patricia had huffed as Leah kissed her on the forehead like their mother used to do. Then she left while the children were still asleep and walked to the train station. The next day she had been on a boat bound for the south. She hadn't been back since.

"Good morning." Came a voice from behind her. She looked up and over her shoulder to see Dr. Bayer stretching the sleep from his muscles on the deck behind her. She grinned.

"Good morning, Doctor." He scoffed at the title.

"Please, just call me Henry. We're all peers here." She nodded.

"All right but only if you call me Leah." he chuckled, taking a sip of coffee from his steaming mug.

"That sounds like a fair trade, Leah."

"I rather thought so." She said as he came to stand beside her at the railing. He was really a handsome man now that she was able to see him in the light of day without the dingy filter of the lights and smoke in the galley.

"So where are you from, Leah?" he asked. The question was so mundane that she almost laughed out loud. Here they were, a ragtag team of experts from all over the world on their way to study a mysterious island that had never been documented or studied before. On this island were supposedly creatures that boggled the mind and plants that could kill just as readily as a lion or tiger. This was their destination and it intrigued her so much that she somehow forgot that they had to get to know each other at some point. So she smiled and answered.

"Well I'm originally from Oklahoma, but I make my home wherever work takes me."

"Huh, I never pictured you being from Oklahoma." She looked at him with an eyebrow raised and a half-smile on her lips and he recovered quickly. "Not that there's anything wrong with Oklahoma. I have an uncle from outside of Tulsa." He chuckled into his coffee cup as he took another sip. "He has one leg that's longer than the other and sells moonshine out of his root cellar." This time Leah did laugh.

"That sounds like half my sister's neighbors." She said once the giggles had subsided.

"I'm sure your sister is exempt from that stereotype." Henry said, recovering from his own bout of chuckles.

"Oh, she is. Patricia is the most beautiful girl in southwest Oklahoma. She has enough pageant ribbons to prove it too." Leah stated matter-of-factly. "She took after our mother. Her children are beautiful too." She said smiling into the sunrise, thinking of her nieces and nephew.

"Any family of your own?" Henry asked. Leah shook her head.

"Not yet. Patty and her family are enough for me right now." She took another sip of her coffee, which was getting a little cooler but was still warm enough to be enjoyable. She looked at Henry who was enjoying the sunrise. "So what about you, Henry?"

"Hmm? What about me?" he asked with a little smile on his face. There didn't seem to be a moment that went by that he wasn't smiling. It would have perturbed Leah if it weren't such a genuinely infectious smile.

"Well you already know all about my family and where I come from. So where is it that you call home?" Throwing down the last of his coffee, Henry coughed a little and looked at her from behind his round glasses.

"Alright, well I currently call the campus of Arizona State Teacher's College 'home' where I teach several students about geology and sometimes about the bones of dinosaurs I've found around the world." He said

"I grew up in Flagstaff, my father was in the army and fought in the war. I helped raise my little sister while he was away. She's now studying to be a nurse at ASTC." He smiled fondly, probably remembering his mother and sister.

"She sounds like a smart girl. We need more good nurses." Leah commented, idly. Henry nodded. "So what about your mother and father? Are they still around?" He nodded again.

"My father was shot overseas and was sent back home. He's a construction worker now. My mother is retired and looks after the house. As you can imagine, construction doesn't pay very much so I send money whenever I can. That's actually the main reason I'm here. They offered more money for one of these voyages than I can make at the College in a year." He said.

"Makes sense to me." She responded.

"So what about your parents? You mentioned your sister but where are your parents?" at that point Leah stopped smiling and stared into the depths of her coffee mug. Her face was unreadable.

"They're together, under the little apple tree where they first met." She felt Henry look at her. She didn't think he was smiling anymore either.

"I'm sorry, Leah." She nodded, never looking away from her mug.

"My father died during the war and my mother died a few years after him. I helped get my sister through the rest of secondary school and then she got married to a good man and I went off to college." She sipped the last of her coffee. "And now I'm here." Henry nodded, looking contemplative for a moment and then turned away from the now-risen sun towards her.

"Well, Doctor Leah Turner, we are glad to have you here with us, if I might speak for everyone else." He said holding out his hand. She smiled at him and shook it. She was about to reply when another voice echoed across the deck.

"Oi! You two! Misster Abn'r wants evr'one in th'galley roight now! Move yer arses!" The mercenary she had seen last night in the galley shouted at them in a thick Irish accent. Henry waved at him.

"On our way, Mister Delany!" he shouted back. He grinned and rolled his eyes a bit. "Well, we better not keep our good Mister Abner waiting." Leah managed a little chuckle.

"There would be hell to pay indeed if we were late."

* * *

The galley was full of every member of their small party and the crew of the _Legendary_, who were coming and going to get a bite of breakfast. Elliot waited another few moments to allow for any stragglers. When he saw no one else enter the galley he cleared his throat and began.

"Gentlemen, you all know that you have been assembled for an exploratory venture on an uncharted island which I am sure you have all heard about in some form or another." There was a good amount of muttering through the galley before it died down on its own. "This first expedition is just a cursory look at the island so we will not be doing anything very serious this go 'round." Around the room there were a few nods and some disappointed faces and even a few grumbles.

"Although we are not doing anything very strenuous this time, we will all be living on the island for a total of two months, with a resupply intermission during which we will return to the mainland for a few days. Do remember that **all** of us will be living in close proximity together, therefore I think it would be in everyone's best interest for us to introduce ourselves.

"For everyone who does not already know, I am Elliot Abner and I will be leading this expedition for the duration." He looked at the man sitting in the seat closest to where he was standing and nodded for him to do the same.

"Travis Delany, expedition guard, second in command." The man beside him continued.

"Edward Tobin, expedition guard as well."

"Darrin Wilson, botanist."

"Benji Keegan, cook."

"Cosimo Laguardia, guard."

"Marick Wyrick, guard."

"Boris Roubinskia, ornithologist, bird scientist." He elaborated

"Remy Leroux, entomologist."

"Johan Forst, medic."

"Henry Bayer, paleontologist."

"Leah Turner, behavioral ecologist." Some of the men who had not yet seen Leah turned at the sound of her voice and looked at her. She ignored them though and looked to Elliot to continue their little meeting.

"Yes, men, there is a woman in our party, be that as it may, I expect the utmost professionalism during this expedition. Anyone caught acting otherwise will be dealt with swiftly and severely." He heard Leah mutter to herself and beside her; Henry looked at her incredulously and suppressed a chuckle.

"What was that, Lovely?" inquired Edward Tobin to Elliot's right. He had a sly look about him and Elliot made the call right now in his mind that Tobin would have to be watched to avoid him getting into too much mischief. She fixed Tobin with a hard green stare and stated firmly.

"I didn't say anything." She replied with an easy shrug. Elliot highly doubted that, as Henry was still shaking with silent laughter. He took a breath and told himself to just leave it.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, we will be meeting up with another steamer, the _S.S. Resilient_, sometime either today or tomorrow and we will have a trade-off with them of some passengers and cargo. The representative of our sponsors is coming with us on this first landing." Many of the mercenaries groaned and he knew how they felt. They didn't need another untrained head to protect. He didn't like it either but this was coming from over his head. Somehow, he got the impression that the sponsors were sending this particular representative to the island to get rid of him at least for a little while.

"Alright," he said, snapping himself back to reality and the smoky galley filled with chattering company members. "That is all I have for you, are there any questions you lot have for me?" The mercenaries all shook their heads; all they needed to know was what to shoot and where it was. The scientists, on the other hand, all piped up loudly and at the same time.

"Is it habited?"

"How big is it?"

"Where is it exactly?"

"What are some confirmed Flora and Fauna?" He held up his hands and had to shout to get them quieted down and halt the onslaught of science babble.

"Whoa now lads, how about some questions I can answer?" Everyone fell quiet they all looked at each other. A voice from the corner piped up.

"Have you ever been to the island, Mister Abner?" Leah fixed her green stare on him and he ground his teeth. Of course she would ask him something like that. This woman would be the death of him.

"No, Doctor Turner, I have not been to the island personally." She nodded and raised her eyebrows, making contemplative noises at the back of her throat.

"Have you researched it?"

"No, Doctor." He ground out, his temper rising with every second she spent talking.

"Well," she finally said coolly, "It's good to know we'll be entrusting our lives to someone who is just as clueless as we are about what's waiting for us." Abner felt his pulse pound against his temple and his hands clenched into fists. Damn her, damn her to the farthest reaches of the earth! Never had he ever met someone so bloody infuriating in his life and he made a living escorting infuriating people into the wilderness. But this woman topped them all. He made a decision right then and there that he wanted nothing to do with her. He wasn't going to stick his neck out for her now or ever.

"Everyone is dismissed." He said through gritted teeth, continuing to glare at Leah who kept her stare even with his. Henry tugged on her shirtsleeve and she relented, snorting through her nose.

Once everyone had left, Elliot pounded one of the wooden tables with the outside of his fist and cursed under his breath. No woman was going to get the best of him, dammit! He'd show her who was in charge of this bloody company.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky and the company was lounging around on the deck of the_ Legendary_, passing the time in different ways. In Elliot's case, this consisted of cleaning and inspecting his beloved double rifle, Belinda. Upon inspection of the barrel, he found that it was in perfect balance and gorgeously even. He also noticed that he had pointed the barrel across the deck and it appeared as though he was aiming at one Dr. Leah Turner. She wasn't looking however; she was engrossed in a conversation with Doctors Roubinskia and Leroux. He grumbled under his breath as footsteps approached him.

"Elliot Abner! Never thought I'd see you on this side of the Sinai Peninsula again!" Elliot looked up into the face of Captain Alfred Hamilton, an old friend from what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Captain Hamilton!" The two men clasped hands and clapped each other on the shoulder. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you these two days we've been at sea."

"Ah! Yes, been laid up in my quarters with a dreadful head cold. I told Chandra he could cast off when everyone had boarded. I trust you have everyone?" Elliot nodded locking the barrel of Belinda back in place and examined the sight alignment. He saw again that he was aiming for Dr. Turner who was demonstrating knuckle walking to the other Doctors.

"Well now, whose that? The wife of one of the scientists? I didn't think that was even sanctioned." Elliot snorted as he lowered his gun onto his lap.

"No, my dear Alfred, that _is_ a scientist." Alfred harrumphed behind his white muttonchops. He didn't speak then and Elliot had to look up to make sure he was still there.

"I'd like to meet her." He said finally.

"You what?"

"Come now, Elliot, introduce me. I'd like to meet a woman who can get such a rise out of you." His blue eyes were so full of laughter it was a wonder they didn't grow lungs and let out a cackle of their own. Elliot shook his head.

"It's your ship, you can introduce your own bloody self."

"It's your company, now introduce me, or I'll have you thrown overboard." Elliot stood up and shouldered his rifle and shrugged at his friend.

"Have at it." He patted Albert on the shoulder and made to head to his bunk, where he would stow Belinda in a velvet-lined case under his bunk. Alfred's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Despite a little weight gain, his old war buddy was still as strong as Elliot remembered.

"Really, Elliot, what is going on? If I knew you as well as I thought I did, you'd never let a girl get between you and a job that needed doing. What's different?" he could hear the concern and friendly teasing in Alfred's voice, but he honestly didn't know what made Leah Turner so infuriating that she got so under his skin. All he could offer in response was a shrug and an,

"I dunno, mate." Alfred shook his head and smiled crookedly at him.

"Find out, Elliot, you have to lead this company safely through an extremely dangerous wilderness that even you aren't familiar with. You can't be distracted just because this woman gets under your skin. Talk to her, work out an agreement, put it behind you and prepare your company." Alfred was looking at him earnestly now. Elliot chuckled a little.

"That sounds a bit too civilized for my taste, though." He joked, although he saw Alfred's face fall a little and settle into a half-hearted frown. "I mean, it was so much easier when we could shoot anyone we disagreed with, eh Freddy?" Alfred chuckled at his old nickname.

"Whatever this is, El, fix it. You're priority is getting everyone out there and back in one piece."

"Oi, alright, I already have a mum, I don't need you as a stand-in Freddy." Alfred crossed his arms and nodded his head in the direction of Leah and the other doctors. Elliot rolled his eyes at his friend.

"I will, later. Any idea where the _Resilient_ may be?"

"They haven't hailed in yet so they're still probably out of range. Last I heard they were maintaining a southwesterly heading, just east of Madagascar." Elliot nodded and walked toward his stateroom. "Elliot!" Alfred shouted at him when he'd only taken a few steps. "Take care of it, today. I mean it, Elliot."

"Good God, Alfred, don't you ever shut up?" He asked and stalked off to his room.

* * *

Dinner that night was more beans and rice, but luckily they decided to switch it up and serve cornbread instead of regular bread. Leah also noticed that there were small chunks of salted ham mixed into the beans. The coffee even seemed better to Remy than it had last night. The atmosphere was generally good-spirited and cheery. Leah had struck up a conversation with Riley, the youngest member of the _Legendary's_ crew. He couldn't have been older than fifteen and with some coaxing he finally told her that he was actually fourteen but would be fifteen in December.

"My birthday is in December!" she exclaimed excitedly to a large, crooked-tooth grin that seemed to light up the boy's entire face.

"The seventh. When's yours?"

"I'm the eleventh." She replied. He smiled and nodded sympathetically.

"Yeah everyone here always gives me presents after Christmas since that when we all have leave and they have money." Leah nodded and swallowed her mouthful of beans.

"I haven't gotten birthday presents in about ten years." Riley looked a bit shocked at that. "I'm always away from people on my birthday. My sister just gives me about one present a year and that covers every holiday and birthday."

"That seems fair." Riley said, "If you aren't around on your birthday then people shouldn't be forced to give you presents." She held up her coffee mug in an invitation.

"I could not agree more, Sir." Riley clunked his tin cup against Leah's and they both drank in a little mock cheer. They chatted a little more before the first mate, Chandan, came in and collected Riley for his crow's nest duties. She bid the boy goodbye and a good night of keeping watch of the open sea.

Once he'd gone, she looked around the galley for Henry but could not find him. She inquired about his absence among the other scientists,

"Ee went to bed early." Remy offered through his mouthful of rice and beans. "Ee said something about getting enough sleep so ee could wake up and watch zee sunrise."

"Ah, I see." She said, feeling her heart flutter a bit at this. A smile came to her face as she went back to her own meal, only listening marginally to the conversations that floated through the galley. The conversation with Henry this morning had been easy and comfortable, which she enjoyed and he hadn't been too prying, for which she was grateful. He just seemed like a good man. She sighed into her coffee and dug back into her beans and cornbread.

"Doctor Turner." Came a harsh, South African voice from behind her. She ground her teeth and rolled her eyes before turning around to face Elliot Abner who was wearing a sour expression.

"Mister Abner." She replied dryly.

"We need to talk."

"Alright."

"Outside." He said and turned to leave, not giving her an opportunity to interject a snarky comment. She snorted and rose from her seat, stopping halfway to the door to lean over Boris's shoulder.

"If I'm not back in five minutes, I've probably been thrown overboard." She said in Russian. He nodded seriously, not giving any indication that he knew she was joking. At least, she hoped she was only joking.

"I'll come looking." He replied and she walked the rest of the way to the door. She stepped out into the semi-darkness and felt something latch onto her arm. On pure instinct, her other hand found the handle of her hunting knife under her shirt at her hip. She growled under her breath.

"Mister Abner, if you want to keep that hand of yours, I suggest you remove it from my forearm." Abner scoffed but let go of her arm.

"Fine, follow me." She obliged him even though there was a warning going off in her head to do exactly the opposite. He led her around to starboard on the main deck and turned to look at her.

"We need to get a few things straight here, Doctor, I don't like you."

"I _never_ would have guessed." She said sarcastically. She heard him grumble under his breath, apparently trying to keep his head about him. "I don't like you either, Mister Abner, so now that that's out of the way what else did you drag me out here for?" He looked as though he was gathering his words so she gave him a moment, which was more than he really deserved from her.

"As was pointed out to me by a good friend, my job is to lead this company through a wilderness no one is familiar with and get everyone back safely." She nodded, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts since he was doing such a good job making full sentences on his own. "I need you to stop your antagonizing of me simply because it is distracting and I can't lead this company effectively when I'm thinking about killing you." His delivery was so very blunt that Leah couldn't help but laugh out loud. Elliot's face remained stony during her bout of amusement.

"So first I'm distracting and now you think of me. That's sweet, but, as already stated Mr. Abner, I hate you."

"Why do you hate me, Doctor?"

"You are not the first explorer I've met, Sir. Men like you say that women are a nuisance to have on an expedition and, granted, many are, but none are like me. Do you honestly think that I was chosen for this expedition because of my lack of field experience?" Elliot exhaled slowly through his nose and seemed to grind his teeth but said nothing as he leaned against the railing with one hand. "Think of it this way, Mr. Abner, would they have really chosen a woman for the biggest expedition in history if she didn't know what she was doing?" she heard Elliot sigh.

"I have had women say that they know what they're doing and that always preludes disaster that they usually cause. Before I can say that you are indeed as independent as you say, I need proof. That is the way it has always been. I have never led a safari where a woman made any good decisions." Leah nodded, her lips pursed and her eyebrows high on her forehead. She had to physically will herself not to punch this man square in the jaw.

"As far as proof goes, I am here when another person could have been chosen and that is all the proof you should need." He smirked at her.

"And here I was thinking that you'd have some internal father-figure issues and have the subconscious need to impress me." Something about the way he said it or what he said set her off. She had been through way too much prejudice already in her career. Now she had to hear it from this pompous asshole? No, she refused to take any more of this. She stared down the man before her and hissed at him.

"Sorry to disappoint. I'm confident enough in my own abilities that I do not need to prove myself, least of all, to you. I have faced my trials and survived them all. My professional career has taken on more prejudice and criticism than you, one man, can throw at me now. I am here now, on your roster because I have honed my skills and my mind enough that someone felt that I was qualified enough to be here. Mister Abner, I neither need nor want your _approval_."

"Doktor Turner?" came Boris' voice from the doorway to the galley, snapping her out of the murderous thoughts that were beginning to invade the forefront of her mind.

"I'm down here, Doctor Roubinskia." She called up to her peer.

"I vas just checking. Making sure no one was getting hurt." He said kindly. She turned and smiled up at him.

"Thank you, Boris. We're fine."

"Just do not kill each other yet. The others and I wish to watch." She smiled at him again as he disappeared back into the galley to a round of raucous laughter. She turned back to Elliot.

"I think we're done here anyway." He said and went to brush past her towards the stern of the ship.

"Mister Abner." She called to him for one last thought. He turned towards her just a bit. "Did you ever think that you have never been able to trust a woman on safari because us "independent women" are already out in the wild on our own and don't need you?" there was a long pause where neither of them spoke or moved. Elliot still didn't look at her fully. After a few moments, he harrumphed to himself and strode the rest of the way to the galley. Leah turned to look out at the open ocean. The moon fell onto the water and bobbed and glittered on the surface. She thought of her father. She hadn't seriously thought of either of her parents in years. Maybe it was because of what Abner had said about her having a subconscious father-figure problem, but she thought mostly about her father, the man she took after the most both in appearance and temperament. Every memory brought a smile to her face and from that she was able to conclude that Abner had been grasping at straws to try and judge her behavior. That thought, too, made her smile.

When she turned in to bed that night she fell asleep quickly and dreamed of home for the first time in years.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you guys are enjoying! This chapter is a little shorter than the last two, so to compensate I'll try to make the wait for chapter 4 shorter, too. Happy reading!**

The next morning came too quickly for Leah's liking, and much too noisily. She awoke to the foghorn blaring a warning signal. Above her head, people were stomping on the boards, making them squeak and groan. Then there was the shouting, lots of shouting in Hindi and English. She attempted to bury her head back into her pillow but it didn't help. So instead of fighting it, she rose groggily and twisted her red-brown hair into a braid. She didn't even bother to pull her boots on before she took the steps up to the main deck. She had heard the shouting and running but she didn't expect the main deck to be quite so bustling.

She made her way blearily through the knots of crewmen and eventually found Henry who was chatting with, oh God forbid, Elliot Abner at the port bow.

"Good morning, Leah." Henry greeted with that infectious smile of his. She attempted a smile of her own but was so tired she was certain it came out as more of a grimace.

"M'rning." She mumbled, not quite having found her voice just yet. Henry offered her a sip of coffee from his cup and she gladly took it, savoring the warm liquid and feeling energy slowly wind its way through her limbs.

"Did her majesty sleep well?" Elliot's voice was quite possibly the last thing she wanted to hear right now. She handed Henry's cup back to him and gave Elliot a rather rude gesture, which was a bit unconvincing since she had to grip the railing to keep herself steady.

"G'fuck y'rself, Abn'r." If he did respond she didn't hear it for the foghorn of the ship let out another deafening bellow. However, this time there was an echo. Another foghorn sounded through the early morning mist that was clinging to the water. There was an excited cheer from the crew who were crowding the starboard rail.

"What's going on, Elliot?" Henry asked. There was no malice in his voice, which was more than Leah thought the man deserved. It also drove home the thought that Henry was simply a good man and able to give the benefit of the doubt to those who didn't deserve it.

'_Or its because he's a man and Elliot doesn't hate men.'_ She thought which opened up a slew of other ideas that Leah would have rather not imagined.

"The _Resilient _made contact earlier this morning. We'll be docking with each other for a short while so the representative of our benevolent sponsors can transfer himself and his luggage to our lovely vessel."

"Why didn't they just meet us in Kanyakumari?" Leah asked of either of the men. "That would have made a lot more sense if they wanted to transfer cargo."

"I don't know, Doctor, maybe you should ask the rep when he arrives." Abner stated somewhat sharply. Leah grimaced, so this was her reward for attempting to be civil. She answered him in the same sharp tone.

"Maybe I will, Mister Abner."

"I'm certain he enjoys people questioning every decision he makes instead of just doing what they're told."

"Touchy when you're under pressure aren't you?"

"It's so nice to see you two are getting along better." Henry interjected after being left out of the rapid back-and-forth conversation. Leah chuckled a bit.

"Only because Abner doesn't like sharing his real feelings in front of other people." Yes, she knew exactly how that sounded and yes; the look on Elliot's face was worth every bit of trouble she may get into. His face turned a splotchy red and he turned and looked at her, blue eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth hanging open like a gasping fish she had caught on the end of her line.

"You absolutely insufferable-" the foghorn of the _Legendary_ blared through the air again, cutting off Elliot's tirade. The bow of the _Resilient_ was now in sight and creeping up to level with where the three of them stood. Leah cast a sideways glance at Henry, who looked at her and mouthed 'Feelings?' she shook her head and whispered.

"I felt like being mean." He smiled and nodded and looked back towards the _Resilient_. He looked relieved somehow. She allowed herself a small, girlish smile at that. They all stood in relative silence and watched with rapt attention as the crews of the _Legendary_ and the _Resilient_ worked as one unit tying off connection points and establishing a temporary gangplank. When the two ships were finally floating in tandem the crews let out a cheer and Leah clapped for them. She then excused herself from the men's company and wandered up to the galley to get herself a morning cup of coffee and a little bit of breakfast.

She left with her warm mug and a biscuit and leaned on the railing. She saw a pile of crates, boxes and suitcases building up on the main deck faster than the crew could get them stored below. On the sides of much of the cargo was painted a single name and the contents of each box. Things such as 'film stock' and 'extra lenses' and other of the like were printed in white paint. She took in the hustle and bustle from her perch and saw Henry still at the portside bow speaking to two men she had never seen before. She was certain she had met the entire crew and she knew the rest of the company by name and appearance. She caught Henry's eye and he waved for her to come down and the two men looked up at her as well and she waved. The two men lifted their hands. She turned and climbed back down the stairs onto main deck. She approached Henry and the two men, the former of whom smiled at her.

"Doctor Leah Turner, this is Doctor Carter Able," the taller of the two men nodded his head at her and shook her hand. "And Mister Dean Sommers."

"Pleased to meet you. Doctor." Sommers said with a goofy grin on his face. She smiled at him as well as they shook hands. Sommers was shorter than Able and gangly, with reddish-brown curly hair and freckles all across his nose.

"Likewise, the both of you." She said politely.

"They are going to be part of the survey party, they'll be going to the island as well." Henry said.

"Indeed we are," Able said in a British lilt, a little glee slipping through his serious demeanor. He was a tall man with graying black hair and a small mustache and goatee. "Going to map and classify an island never before documented by mankind. We're looking forward to the challenge." Beside him, Sommers nodded excitedly.

"Doctor Able has a hypothesis that the island is mostly tropical with a few mountainous areas, and a rainforest-like climate." Dr. Able let out a hearty laugh and patted Sommers on the back.

"Dean is my student at Oxford. Likes to boast about his old mentor." Able said, not unkindly as he ruffled Sommers' hair making it stand up in funny places. Leah smiled.

"Oi! Henry! Doctor Turner! Get over here!" Abner called them over to the pile of boxes and crates and for the first time, Leah managed not to roll her eyes at the man. "My crew!" He had to shout at the rest of the members. "Gather round!" standing beside him was a somewhat portly man with a round face and a look in his eye that didn't sit right with Leah. They shifted and slid among the company members as they arrived to look at him. He held a black hat in one of his plump hand and was smoothing his immaculately greased hair with the other. His dark, unsettling eyes finally found hers and widened just the barest amount. He leaned over to Abner, who was at least half a head taller than he was, and whispered something to him. Elliot found her in the crowd, made eye contact and whispered something back to the man. Together, the two of them just made her altogether uneasy.

"Alright, mates, this is Mister Carl Denham, the representative of our most gracious sponsors." Everyone muttered their greeting and some nodded their heads in the general direction of Mr. Denham.

"Thank you, Abner." He started. Sommers leaned his head close to her ear from his spot at her left shoulder and whispered,

"I wouldn't trust him. That man could talk a mother out of her own baby." Leah nodded

"He seems like he would." She whispered back. Looking back towards the shady Mr. Denham and noticed that he had finished his welcoming words and that Elliot was requesting that his company help the crew of the _Legendary _stow Mr. Denham's cargo below in the hull. There were several 'yes sir's and other noises of affirmation. Leah bid Dr. Able and Sommers farewell as they went to leave and reboard the _Resilient._ She made her way to help with the cargo and helped stow the cargo below deck.

"Didn't know we were getting our own film crew." She said to Henry, who let out a chuckle as they set their respective crates in the hull. The two of them climbed back up to the main deck chuckling back and forth about Denham and Leah shared her first impressions.

"He did seem a little on the sleazy side." Henry said. "I liked him a lot better when I saw him on the stage in New York." Leah agreed with the first part and inquired about the second.

"You were in New York and met him? Why were you there?" It didn't seem right that a professor could leave his campus on a whim and go all the way across the country, but then again, Leah had never been a professor so she didn't know. Henry looked at her quizzically as they reached the main deck.

"I was there for the show. Carl Denham is the man who brought the giant ape back from the island we're sailing to." Leah felt her eyes widen and her mind turn into a live, buzzing electrical wire, as it did whenever she made connections.

"You mean to tell me that Carl Denham, that man that we just greeted is the man that discovered this island?" Henry nodded.

"Yes, he put on a live show with the beast. Tickets were extremely expensive, but I got an alright seat and managed to get out okay." Leah's head was filling up with questions by the second, so fast that she was sure she would soon burst from the excitement.

"What was he like?" she asked the first question that had come to her.

"Well he still seemed a little on the dishonest side but he played it well. I mean, he-"

"No, no, not Denham. What was _he _like?" there was some confusion on Henry's face. She sighed, feeling her cheeks get hot with embarrassment. She hadn't specified which he she meant, which was exactly like her. Oh, she could hear her mother now. Shaking her head she asked plainly. "The ape, what was the ape like?"

"Oh, well, he seemed calm enough until they brought out the woman." Gasping, or rather just sucking in a breath far too loudly, Leah grabbed his arm and began dragging Henry towards the bunkroom.

"Hold that thought! Let me grab my notebook. This is worth writing down." When she turned to look at him she saw that he was smiling at her. She smiled back and continued running down the corridor with Henry in tow.

* * *

Carl Denham looked around his room and appraised it with quick calculating eyes. Elliot watched him from the doorway. He had decided early on that he didn't like the man before him. Now he understood the sponsor's eagerness to be rid of him.

"Abner, my good man, any chance we could get a shot of the whole crew later on? The lighting will be perfect in a couple hours and I think we could-" Abner had to cut him off, he needed to understand some things before he went and got ahead of himself. That, and he just didn't like the sound of his voice.

"Mister Denham, I realize that our sponsors sent you here to supervise, but understand that, while we are on this expedition, I am in charge. That is what I am being paid for and it is the job I will carry out. Our sponsors, _your_ benefactors, tasked me with that so as long as you understand that no one here is under your orders, you and I will get along swimmingly. Understood?" Denham didn't look offended by Elliot's speech, more impressed really. He nodded and cocked an eyebrow. His mouth turned up into a crooked smile.

"I understand, Abner." He turned back towards the room itself and continued unpacking his camera and extra film reels. "I'm pleased to see that the boys weren't exaggerating when they said you were the best man for the job."

"Well I don't have a reputation for bowing down to _supposed_ authority, Mister Denham." Abner said dryly. Denham chuckled a little as he gave his camera a few test turns.

"So I see. Now," he suddenly stood up straight and looked at Elliot with an eager eye. "About that group photo."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry its a bit late, school got the better of me what with all my homework and such. Hope you enjoy this installment! Not sure when the next chapter will be up since we are nearing Midterms so I'll just have to play it by ear. Thank you for your patience.**

"Okay so he was really twenty-five feet tall?" Leah asked in almost breathless excitement as she scribbled notes in her notebook. Henry laughed.

"Yes, I promise you, he was at least that tall. And extremely muscular. More muscular than any ape I've ever seen." Leah looked up at him with a smile on her face.

"Many apes get down through Arizona?" she asked snarkily. Henry put his hand to his chest in a show of mock-offense.

"I have seen pictures, thank you very much, Doctor Turner. And I've been to zoos." The two of them laughed and chortled away on their own little corner of the deck. They attracted a few stares but neither of them really cared. Leah caught her breath and put pen back to paper; ready to take down more notes.

"Okay, okay so how was his behavior when they brought out the woman?" she asked. Henry thought for a moment.

"Well, it's like he came out of some sort of trance and finally realized what was happening to him. Like she opened up his eyes. Then the cameras started going off and he started roaring, that's when I decided I needed to go. I think I was the first to leave actually. I only heard about everything else the next morning although I heard all the commotion." Leah was furiously writing in her notebook muttering things to herself like 'Fascinating'. She looked up when she realized that Henry had been silent for a while. She looked up and saw that he was staring at her, a small smile on his face. It wasn't an intense stare but she looked away, feeling heat rise in her cheeks.

"What?" she asked, turning back to her notes. She heard Henry's shoulders rise in a shrug.

"I have never met anyone, man or woman, that was as fascinated with animal behavior as you are." She smiled a little. "I just think it's amazing that you are doing what you love." She looked up at him again, he was still wearing that small smile and she returned it.

"Well my parents always taught me to find what made me happy and do it, no matter what it took. This is what I love, so I will do it until I either stop loving it or die."

"You have no idea how refreshing your passion is." Henry said. Almost instantaneously, his cheeks turned bright red and he began to explain himself shakily. "I-I mean your passion for your career. I mean I don't know anything about your-um-you know-oh geez. Sorry." Leah was trying desperately not to laugh as he took his hat off to fan himself.

"It's okay, I know what you meant." She assured him. He smiled at her, the color in his face fading a bit.

"Sorry, I don't think before I speak sometimes." He apologized. She patted his arm reassuringly.

"Well you have, no doubt, noticed that my mouth has a mind of its own as well." At that, Henry did laugh.

"Especially when provoked by a certain South African, maybe?" she merely lifted her eyebrows in response as he laughed again. She took down a few more notes about Henry's experience in New York before he asked her.

"What is it with the two of you? We've only been out here two days and you're set at each other's throats." Leah shrugged and contemplated his question as she tapped her pencil on her notebook in an erratic rhythm.

"Well, he's self-absorbed, much too proud for his own good, and most importantly; he thinks he knows everything about me simply because I am a woman." She said with a touch of disdain. "He assumes that because of my gender I can't take care of myself, or that I'll lose my head at the first sign of danger." She sighed and folded her hands and placed her chin upon them. "I don't like him because he doesn't want to get to know me and take advantage of my experience being in the field. To him I'm just another woman that he needs to protect and guide on this wild safari. That is why I can't stand, possibly even hate Elliot Abner." She concluded. Henry nodded quietly as she told him her reasons. "How's that?" she asked after a moment of quiet thought. Henry looked up at her.

"I think you're right about him on all those points really. He does sometimes grumble about having a woman along. However," he said, putting a halt to Leah's grin that said 'you know I'm right'. "I think that if you two stopped antagonizing each other, you'd find that the two of you can work together for the benefit of everyone in this crew." Leah sighed.

"And I would not mind working with him if every single word out of his mouth wasn't disdainful, derogatory or completely asinine." Henry nodded and made like he was getting up to leave but paused.

"Think of it as every time you two have a disagreement it affects the rest of the crew." He smiled at her and offered to get her something from the Galley. She declined and said she would go review her notes and possibly look over those journal entries in need of an evaluation. He smiled and left her to her thoughts because she did have something to think about now.

* * *

After his friendly conversation with Carl Denham, Elliot made his way up the flights of stairs to the helm. Chandra, the first mate, was at the wheel. He greeted Elliot with a smile and a friendly greeting.

"Good morning, my friend. If you are looking for the Captain, he is in his quarters." Elliot nodded.

"Thanks, Mate." He turned and left the helm and retraced his steps down to the boat deck. He knocked on the polished wooden door and heard the captain's voice bidding him to enter.

"G'morning, Captain." He greeted. Captain Hamilton rose from his desk and clapped him on the shoulder.

"And a beauty she's turning out to be, indeed. What can I do for you, Elliot, my boy?" Elliot set down the papers he had been carrying on Hamilton's desk and sat opposite the Captain's chair. Hamilton mimicked his old friend.

"So, have we got a plan in case this scientific debacle goes to shit?" Hamilton exhaled strongly through his nose.

"Always straight to the point, then." Elliot shrugged

"You know me, mate. Never have been one to waste my breath." Hamilton chuckled at that. He reclined back in his cushioned, leather chair and gave Elliot his business stare.

"In answer to your question, yes, we do have an emergency procedure in place should this adventure take a turn for the worse." Elliot said nothing and Hamilton took it as his friend wanting to hear more. "Of course the_ Resilient_ will remain behind as the base for the geography crew, so it should be the first point you and your company should head to when faced with a dangerous situation." Elliot nodded but again said nothing. "However, if something should happen to the _Resilient_, we must receive an SOS and we will return within a week."

"Is there a rendezvous point established?" Elliot asked. Hamilton nodded at him.

"Right now, it is the point of first dropping anchor. However, if this expedition goes smoothly and the other crew gets a good map established, then it will be at the safest shore."

"Which will be determined by the survey crew, correct?"

"Well, they might want your input as far as the animals and their habitats go but yes, the final decision is theirs." Elliot nodded; satisfied with the answer he'd been given. Hamilton leaned forward in his chair and propped his elbows up on his desk. He looked at his friend over folded hands and grinned.

"So," he said with a sly glint flashing in his eye. Elliot was certain he knew exactly where this was going and he'd be happy to disappoint his friend. "How was your conversation with Doctor Turner last night?" Elliot looked at him and shook his head.

"You're such a girl, Alfred." He snorted through his nose. "And that is the last time I ever take your advice. It just made things worse." Hamilton laughed.

"Oh, Elliot, my dear friend, you have the worst time with women." Across the table, Elliot could only shake his head and agree with his old friend. He knew Hamilton was only looking out for his well-being, but sometimes he just didn't need his friend's optimism or ridicules. Now was one of those times. Elliot excused himself and stepped back out onto the boat deck and found some of the men from his company with whom he stayed and conversed until Denham called them all over for that stupid crew photo of his.

* * *

The next few days were a bit tense. Excitement was palpable on the part of the scientists. Apprehension was the main mood amongst the guards and crew and Leah didn't blame them. Every time she thought about their destination and how close they had to be getting, her heart began beating like a drum. She was excited and anxious, and dare she say a little frightened, and she knew her fellows were as well.

For three whole days she managed to avoid both Abner and Denham, which was relatively easy since Abner didn't seem to want the eager, annoying filmmaker going anywhere by himself. She couldn't really blame him and she really didn't mind, since the two were always in each other's company it was easier to elude them.

When she wasn't avoiding the two insufferable men, talking to Henry and the other scientists, or attempting to sketch the crew of the _Legendary_ for practice, she began writing a letter to her sister. Mostly it was an apologetic letter, saying how sorry she was that she wouldn't be back for the late summer baling or the fall cattle drive. She told her sister to give Marty and the children her love and promised that she'd be home in time for Christmas. Finally satisfied with her letter, she signed and sealed it and scribbled the address of the family farm on the envelope. Smiling at it for no reason at all, she skipped out of the bunkroom and made her way up to the main deck, which was bustling as always. She saw Henry and Boris across the deck, trying to stay out of the way of the crew, while having a conversation. Henry saw her and waved her over. She smiled, shook her head and pointed to the letter. Henry nodded and went back to speaking with the big Russian scientist. She, in turn, made her way up the two flights of stairs to the Captain's Office. The door was closed so she knocked.

"Come in." said a voice from the other side of the door. Leah obliged and was met with the sight of Captain Hamilton, Abner, and Denham. So that was why the door had been closed. She guessed they might have been in some kind of meeting. She looked over each man briefly. Denham looked at her quizzically but not with any hostility; Abner looked at her and back to Hamilton without even a flicker of expression, and Hamilton had glanced at Abner before returning his gaze to her and smiling.

"Doctor Turner! We were just talking about you." He said with a big, white smile. She attempted a smile back but felt the heat rushing to her face.

"Oh?" she shot a glance at Abner, who was still not looking at her. "Maybe I want to come back later, then," she said. Hamilton shook his head.

"Of course not, my dear! Please come in, sit down. Perhaps you could help us with one particular question we had." She stepped inside the office but only far enough to shut the door behind her and lean against the frame.

"I'll do my best, Captain." Hamilton nodded his head towards Denham.

"Yes we were talking about what it is that a behavioral ecologist actually _does_." The filmmaker said, eyeing her like one would eye an interesting piece of art. "So, what do you _do_, Doctor?" Leah thought for a moment and decided that she wasn't going to try to convince the men in the office why she did what she did; she would simply answer the question.

"Well, to put it very simply, I study animal behavior, I study animal's actions and attempt to explain them. Reasons for posture, reasons for aggression, things like that." She explained.

"And do you only study monkeys?" Denham asked again. Leah ground her teeth together and tried to keep her composure. She absolutely hated it when people referred to the primate family tree as mere monkeys.

"_Primates_, Mister Denham, are my specialty, yes." A snort sounded through the office and Leah's attention snapped instantly to Abner, who had the faintest trace of a sarcastic grin on his face. Her anger flared promptly. "Something the matter with your sinuses, Mister Abner?" she bit out. Abner still did not acknowledge her presence and instead addressed the Captain.

"I told you her field was useless." Oh, now he'd done it. She was mad as hades, but, as the result of many, many years of practice, she hid her fury behind a smile.

"So tell me, Abner, how does a Great War veteran, who served in the trenches on the side of the British, end up living in South Africa giving safari tours to rich Americans?" Slowly but surely, Abner turned to face her, his face a mask of disbelief and what looked like discomfort. His eyebrows knit together and she could only assume (with more than a little pride) that her hypothesis had been correct. No one said anything and all three men were staring at her with varying levels of astonishment and disbelief.

"How in the world did you know he served in the War?" Hamilton asked, his expression impressed and intrigued at the same time. Leah shrugged.

"Observation, deduction, and some other useless science jargon. I won't get too technical, I don't want to bore Mister Abner." She said coolly as she slid her gaze to Abner who was looking like a fish out of water again and she had to say, she was growing fond of that expression.

"Oh, close your mouth, Abner. It's not like I told you something you didn't already know. Useless, right?" Leah turned her attention away from Abner and back to Hamilton. "Sorry I interrupted your meeting, Captain. I'll come back later." Hamilton nodded and said nothing. She turned and walked briskly out the door. Behind her she heard Denham say enthusiastically,

"I like her, she's got spunk." She shook her head and began to stalk down the stairs to the main deck.

"The feeling is not mutual, Mister Denham." She muttered to herself. She felt her letter in her hand that she had forgotten about completely in her haste to get out of the office. Maybe she'd just have the first mate send it for her. She looked at it. In her annoyance and embarrassment, though she'd never admit to anyone she'd been embarrassed, she had crumpled the letter up. "Damn!" she hissed to herself as she attempted to smooth it out. The deck moved underneath her feet as the ship bobbed in the Indian Ocean swells. Idly she reached out for the railing. At the same time, however, the ship's foghorn sounded loudly, startling her, causing her to miss the rail and fall backwards with a small squeak of surprise.

"Leah?" She looked up and saw Henry standing over her and suddenly she was more embarrassed than she had been in the Captain's office. "Are you alright?" Henry asked, his voice full of concern. He held out his hand to her to help her up and she took it, somewhat sheepish.

"Yes, thank you." She said a bit more sharply than she intended, which only served to further her humiliation. She took Henry's hand but didn't feel comfortable enough to look him in the eye. He didn't seem too put off by this. Instead he pulled her to her feet, put his arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the bow.

"Look, Leah," he said, pointing ahead as another brain-rattling sound from the foghorn ripped through the air. Leah followed Henry's indication and saw what could only be a thick wall of fog. She felt her heart speed up staring at the impenetrable wall of cloud. She knew what it meant, as did every other person on this ship. Beside her, Henry squeezed her shoulder and whispered excitedly.

"We're almost there." She nodded, suddenly unable to find her voice. 'Almost there.' She thought to herself. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time and Leah was relishing every second of the mystery. The thrill of a new place and new creatures to study made her blood, laden with adrenalin, rush through her veins, contributing to an almost dizzying high that anyone else would have called fear.

"Yes we are." Was all she had the voice to say.


End file.
